# Favorite Star Trek Books? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 7, 2010, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-star-trek-books/559798 "2010-11-07T15:46:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-star-trek-books/559798/41 "2010-11-09T21:44:52Z")
> [@Dr.Rieux](#): > > _The Galactic Whirlpool_ by David Gerrold is based on one of the story ideas he pitched to Gene Coon along with the one that became “The Trouble with Tribbles.” I remember that book fondly, largely due to one particular line: “I’ll take you home again, Katholin.” ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-star-trek-books/559798/42 "2010-11-09T23:45:08Z")
Probably a book called **The Star Trek Spaceflight Chronology**. It came out at the time of The Motion Picture in 79 as a spaceflight history from Sputnik to the refurbished Enterprise. It also went deep into early Federation history and first contact with the major races. Great art work throughout, it is one of my prized possessions. Still available as well. > **[Star Trek Spaceflight Chronology: Stan Goldstein, Fred Goldstein, Rick...](https://www.amazon.com/Star-Trek-Spaceflight-Chronology-Goldstein/dp/0671790897)** > > Star Trek Spaceflight Chronology \[Stan Goldstein, Fred Goldstein, Rick Sternbach\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. Star Trek Spaceflight Chronology A couple of sample pages from the book. [![](https://farm5.static.flickr.com/4062/4694726218_4c16894161_z.jpg) ](https://farm5.static.flickr.com/4062/4694726218_4c16894161_z.jpg) [![](https://farm5.static.flickr.com/4038/4694095037_06df4e750b_z.jpg) ](https://farm5.static.flickr.com/4038/4694095037_06df4e750b_z.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![vix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a88e4f/32.png) [@vix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vix)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-star-trek-books/559798/43 "2010-11-10T02:44:10Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > I think I might be the only person on the planet (other than the authors) who absolutely loved _The Price of the Phoenix_ and _The Fate of the Phoenix_. You’re not the only one. I read those two countless times, though not in the last decade or so. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-star-trek-books/559798/44 "2010-11-10T04:35:00Z")
This thread inspired me to dig into my old collection. I just reread _Window on a Lost World_ and enjoyed it. _Doctor’s Orders_ too (“I need more verbs!” “Don’t we all.”). Two I recall enjoying were _Chain of Attack_ and its sequel _The Final Nexus_. Also _First Frontier_ was good. _Death Count_ was fun. > [@zamboniracer](#): > > I remember that one, especially “Visit to a Weird Planet Revisited”, where the actors Shatner, Kelley and Nimoy wind up beamed about the actual Enterprise, taking the places of Kirk, McCoy and Spock. And at one point end up being held at phaser-point by Scotty, who thinks they are Klingon spies. Scotty is flabbergasted when they all break into hysterical laughter. ---
**Author:** ![BaneSidhe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c5a1d2/32.png) [@BaneSidhe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaneSidhe)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-star-trek-books/559798/45 "2010-11-10T04:41:53Z")
Spock’s World, Wounded Sky and How Much For Just The Planet are on my faves list. I’ve got quite a collection in storage that I need to dig thru and re-read. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-star-trek-books/559798/46 "2010-11-10T14:43:35Z")
I’d say either Sherry Jackson in “What Are Little Girls Made of?” or Nancy Kovack in “A Private Little War.” Oh, wait. . . that’s “Star Trek Boo **k** s” ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-star-trek-books/559798/47 "2010-11-10T15:05:49Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I loved that story, but I think you’re slightly mis-remembering. Since the original episode had Kirk, McCoy, Uhura, and Scotty beaming to the Mirror Universe, (remember, the mirror Spock had a goatee), it would have been Shatner, Kelley, Nichols, and Doohan who beamed aboard the Enterprise. I remember that it was the actual Spock, and not Nimoy, who was on the Enterprise, and he became acting captain because it was Shatner, and not Kirk, who was aboard the ship. Nowadays I’m happy when my mis-remembering is ONLY slight. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-star-trek-books/559798/48 "2010-11-10T15:47:02Z")
> [@vix](#): > > You’re not the only one. I read those two countless times, though not in the last decade or so. I reread the two Phoenixes when I was in the hospital last month; they’re still good reads. But the other two efforts by the same authorial time blow chunks. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-star-trek-books/559798/49 "2010-11-10T17:18:58Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I reread the two Phoenixes when I was in the hospital last month; they’re still good reads. But the other two efforts by the same authorial time blow chunks. Yes, agreed. I’m not sure I was even able to finish \*Triangle \*or _The Prometheus Design_. I’m certain that if I did, I never read them again (though I still own them, somewhere buried in my storage locker along with every other book I’ve ever owned. :)) ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-star-trek-books/559798/50 "2010-11-11T01:07:07Z")
I got my copy of the TNG Technical Manual at my second or third Star Trek convention, and it’s still on my shelf. As for the novels…oh, man, I used to _inhale_ these as a kid. I only stopped when it seemed like they were producing nothing but multi-part crossover tie-ins. Anyway—yeah, _Dark Mirror_ and _Kobayashi Maru_ are old favorites of mine, too. And from the others that I remember, leaving out ones that are probably just of sentimental value, I’d also say: [First Frontier](http://www.amazon.com/First-Frontier-Star-Trek-Book/dp/0671520458/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1289437065&sr=1-1-fkmr0), by Diane Carey and James Kirkland. TOS meets time-traveling space dinosaurs…okay, it _sounds_ incredibly stupid when I say it like that, but it’s really very good. [Twilight’s End](http://www.amazon.com/Twilights-End-Star-Trek-Book/dp/067153873X) by Jerry Oltion. I’d love the setting, if nothing else, but it’s a good story, too. ---
**Author:** ![Helena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c68b51/32.png) [@Helena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-star-trek-books/559798/51 "2010-11-11T05:32:54Z")
I really liked Uhura’s Song. I almost wish it wasn’t a Star Trek book. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-star-trek-books/559798/52 "2010-11-11T06:54:20Z")
Tasha Yarr, the best Star Trek boobs ever. ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-star-trek-books/559798/53 "2010-11-11T14:50:33Z")
> [@Helena](#): > > I really liked Uhura’s Song. I almost wish it wasn’t a Star Trek book. You might like Janet Kagan’s book _[Mirabile](http://www.amazon.com/Mirabile-Janet-Kagan/dp/0812509935/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1289486955&sr=8-1)_, which is a collection of her popular short stories that were first published in _Asimov’s_. They’re all about the same set of characters, so it reads almost like a novel. Kagan was ill for many years and died in 2008, so she didn’t get to write much more. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-star-trek-books/559798/54 "2010-11-11T16:31:40Z")
> [@Helena](#): > > I really liked Uhura’s Song. I almost wish it wasn’t a Star Trek book. Can you explain what you mean by this? I have my own thoughts in that area. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-star-trek-books/559798/55 "2010-11-12T03:49:15Z")
Incidentally, if any of you want to read a fan-written TOS-era USS _Yorktown_ story as it unfolds, check this out: [Star Trek RPG - Mission #1: "On the Brink"](http://www.mellophant.com/forums/showthread.php?11032-Star-Trek-RPG-Mission-1-quot-On-the-Brink-quot) ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-star-trek-books/559798/56 "2010-11-12T05:13:15Z")
Another I like is _Debtor’s Planet_ which I’m re-reading. > [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](#): > > You might like Janet Kagan’s book _[Mirabile](http://www.amazon.com/Mirabile-Janet-Kagan/dp/0812509935/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1289486955&sr=8-1)_, which is a collection of her popular short stories that were first published in _Asimov’s_. They’re all about the same set of characters, so it reads almost like a novel. Kagan was ill for many years and died in 2008, so she didn’t get to write much more. She’s dead?! I had no idea. Well. At any rate, _Mirabile_ is good; she also wrote another non-Trek novel called [_Hellspark_](http://www.amazon.com/Hellspark-Janet-Kagan/dp/0965834522). ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-star-trek-books/559798/57 "2010-11-12T08:10:34Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I reread the two Phoenixes when I was in the hospital last month; they’re still good reads. But the other two efforts by the same authorial time blow chunks. There’s an OK Wikipedia article about “Price”, but it was better before some officious busybody snipped out about half of the very talented and insightful author’s hard work. But I only read a borrowed copy of “Fate”, and returned it thirty years ago. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-star-trek-books/559798/58 "2010-11-12T09:30:08Z")
I’ve read many many many Star Trek novels. Personal favorites include: A Rock and a Hard Place- Peter David. You can sort of see the genesis of New Frontier in this novel, as Cmdr. Stone has a lot of similarities to McKenzie Calhoun. Imzadi- Peter David. A true Trek classic. I didn’t mind the sequel either. I think it rubs people the wrong way because no one wants to accept the odd pairing of Worf and Troi. But that’s why this novel exists and the pairing and all its faults are explored nicely. Destiny- David Mack. Three books of ass-kicking awesomeness. You want full on war with the Borg? You’ve got it, in spades. All excellent books. Vanguard -Various authors. This is like DS9 in the TOS era. It’s rough and crude and lots of people get killed. There’s affairs and backstabbing and foul language, all the things Star Trek has traditionally shied away from. Definitely Star Trek for adults. Best Destiny- Diane Carey. Carey’s other works are hit and miss but Best Destiny is an awesome Kirk story. The last three A Time To… books- David Mack and Keith R.A. DeCandido. Kill and Heal by David Mack have the Enterprise getting caught up in a conflict similar to the Iraq War. War/Peace by KRAD wraps up the whole storyline and gives the TNG crew a sendoff they so richly deserved after the letdown that was Nemesis. A Gutted World- KRAD. This story is in the Myriad Universes “Echoes and Refractions” compilation, which is a series of Star Trek “What If?” stories. In this case, what if the Cardassians found the wormhole first? KRAD destroys the Federation and makes every second of it awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-star-trek-books/559798/59 "2010-11-12T15:02:20Z")
Sounds very interesting. But what is KRAD? As to the _Imzadi_ sequel, I don’t mind the pairing of Worf and Troi in the least. I just thought the book wasn’t nearly as imaginative or interesting as the first. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-star-trek-books/559798/60 "2010-11-12T20:40:03Z")
KRAD = Keith R.A. DeCandido [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-star-trek-books/559798.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-star-trek-books/559798.md?page=4)